Metallic baseboard structure



May 13, 1941 v W. M. GoLDsMlTl-i V2,241,704 V METALLIC BASEBOARD STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 2, 1959 Patented May 13, 1941 UNi'lE STATES PATENT @FFME METALLic BssEoAan STRUCTURE William M. Goldsmith, Hamilton, Ohio .application August 2, 1939, serial No. 288,003

v(icl. isss55 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a metallic baserboard structure, and especially to one including protective means whereby such structures may be shipped, handled, and installed without injury ordistortion such as would interfere with and complicate the installation of a partition wall or the like. v

An object oi the invention is to provide, in a structure of the character stated, a novel form oi clip or bracing strut adapted for protecting the basebcard structure from injury and distortion, which clip or strut is exceedingly simple,

inexpensive, and effective for the purpose stated. v

A further object of the invention is to provide a clip or Vbracing strut for metallic baseboard structures, which in its highly simplied form is capable oi performing the functions of clamping, with a very substantial force, upon the flanges of a metallic baseboard unit, while at the same time presenting abutments so related as vto preclude both collapse and spreading of the wall elements of the structure,

Another object is to provide a clamp for the purpose stated, which may be applied instantly and with the aid of merely ahammer blow, so that nosubstantial labor and eiiort are required in applying the clip. l The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which: g

Fig. l is a perspective view of ametallic baseboard structure showing the simplied and improvedv clip applied thereto.

Fig. 2' is a side elevational view oi the clip shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an end View of the clip shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the Fig. l structure.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, illustrating the initial position of theclip when applying same to the baseboard structure.

With reference to the accompanying drawing, the characters l2 and I3 indicate `the side walls of a metallic baseboard unit such as may be Jfastened to a floor or other support in the erection of a partition or wall. Baseboard units of the general character disclosed iind application usually in the erection of plastered or other monolithic walls, and it is of course necessary that the baseboard unit be maintained in smooth and undistorted conditiony if a satisfactory workmanlilre job is to'be accomplished in erecting the wall.

Due to the practice of erecting between the walls I2 and i3 the lath posts or `studs which form the skeleton of the wall or partition structure, it is desirable that the spaced walls I2 and I3 be so related and unrestricted as to the opening Icetween-them, that the lath posts or studs may be set between the walls Without interference b-y permanent braces or webs designed primarily to support the walls against collapse or spreading. Accordingly, it is considered good practice to provide the connection between walls I2 and I3 near their lower edges, and this may be accomplished in various ways such as-by the use of a U-shaped base piece Ilirhaving one or more apertures I5 in the horizontal section thereof, for reception of suitable fastening means adapted to X the base piece relative to a iioor or other support. The

I upstanding legs I6 and Il of the base piece may be welded or otherwise iixedly secured to the walls i2 and I3.

It will at once be noted thatthe rigidity of the walls I2 and lI3 in the region of their upper edges is enhanced to some extent by the legs of the base piece I4, however it is possible to crush, bend or objectionably distort the baseboard walls either deliberately, or by accident, during handling, shipping, or placement oi the base'ooard unit during erection of the contemplated wall or partition. According to the present invention, the upper edge of each wall of the unit is turned inwardly and downwardly to form the flanges I8 and I9 disposed at an acute angle to their respective walls. rlfhese flanges ordinarily will become embedded in the material used in forming the wall or partition, so as to key the baseboard unit thereto. The plastic material forming the Wall or partition may fill the space between the walls I2 and i3 in certain types oi construction, while in other constructions the space will remain empty. These considerations are immaterial to the present invention. The upper or anged edges of the wal-1s I2 and I3 of the baseboard unit are adapted to Vcooperate with the clip or bracing vstrut 2! of the inventiontin such manner that the application of force tending either to spread or collapse the walls, will be effectively resisted by the clip or strut, and this is accomplished without special treatment of the flanges I8 and The clip or bracing strut 25J comprises a short and initially rectangular strap of iron, steel, or other suitable metal having its opposite ends biiurcated to provide clamping ears or lu'gs'Z'I, 22, 23, and 24. The width oi the space Z5 between adjacent clamping ears 'or lugs is notcritical, but the space between the mean planes of adjacent clarnping ears `must be sufli'ciently constricted to permit a wall flange such as `i8 to enter only upon application of a driving force to the clip. In this connection see Fig. 2, wherein the space between the mean planes of ears 23 and 24 is slightly less than the thickness of ilange I9 of Fig. l. It will be noted also that the ears are substantially parallel, and also that similar ears, (2| and 23 of Fig. 5), are diagonally opposed on the clip. The similar ears 22 and 24 are also diagonally opposed. The clip is applied to the flanges by disposing it between them initially as' illustrated in Fig. 5, with the clamping ears or lugs 22 and 24 located beneath the flanges, while the lugs or ears 2| and 23 overlie said flanges. It will readily be evident by referring to Fig. 5, that a hammer blow delivered in the direction ofthe arrow 2S, will force the lug 23 across the upper face of ilange I9, and by the time the clip or strut assumes the applied position of Fig. 4, lugs 23 and 2| will overlie the flanges I9 and I8, respectively, while the lugs or ears 22 and 24 rest against the under surfaces of the obliquely inclined flanges It and I9, respectively.

Due to the constriction resulting from the limited space between the adjacent ears or lugs, the sharp edges of the metal between adjacent ears will have a tenacious bite or clamping action against the upper andlower faces, as well as against the free longitudinal edges 21 of the flanges. The depth of slot indicated at 25 may determine the minimum spacing between the flanges of the opposed walls when the clip is applied thereto, if desired. In the embodiment illustrated, however, the bends indicated at 28 and 29 serve as stops for the edges of the wall flanges, to establish the distance between the walls when the clip is applied. The pairs of clamping ears or lugs are inclined at an acute angle to the body of the clip or strut, which angle is complementary to the angle between each wall flange and its associated side wall. The length or upward extension of the under lugs 22 and 24 may also be depended upon to establish the minimum spacing, which would ordinarily be the specified spacing, between the walls of the baseboard unit. When the faces of the lugs are in ilatwise contact upon the upper and lower faces of the flanges, the frictional contact is of a substantial value such as to oppose any tendency of the clip to become accidentally disassociated from the baseboard unit flanges. Thus, it should be apparent that the clip will hold tenaciously whether or not it be driven to an exact rightangular relationship to the unit walls.

While it may appear from Figs. 2 and 3 that the lugs 2| and 23 are longer than the lugs 22 and 24, it should be stated that the lugs initially may be of the same length, the apparent difference being due to the fact that the lugs 22 and 24 are upwardly inclined at a slightly greater distance from the middle point of the clip, than are the lugs 2| and 23. The purpose of forming the bends 28 and 29 at a greater distance from the middle point of the clip, is to establish the parallelism between adjacent lugs in planes slightly offset from one another. This construction enables disposition of the over and under lugs against the flanges, without undue distortion of the clip lugs while at the same time providing for the desired clamping action upon the wall flanges.

In the preferred form of clip, the inner corner of each clamping ear or lug 2| and 23 is broken or cut away, as indicated at 30, to enable easy starting of the wall flanges into the space between adjacent ears or lugs.

If desired, the

outer edges 3| of ears or lugs 22 and 24 may be similarlytreated by cutting or otherwise reducing the corner extensions thereof, so that the underneath ears or lugs 22 and 24 may assume the operative position of Figs. 1 and 4 without forcefully contacting the side walls where the flanges I8 and I9 are turned thereon.

From the foregoing it should be readily apparent that anyv attempt to spread apart the upper edges of the baseboard unit walls, will meet with the resistance offered by the underneath lugs or clamping ears 22 and 24 which, in eect, hook underneath the opposed flanges I8 and I9. Likewise, any force applied to the upper portions of the baseboard unit walls tending to reduce the space between them, will be resisted by the overlying clamping ears or lugs 2| and 23. In other words, the four lugs of each clip establish definitely the spacing between the baseboard unit walls at the top portions thereof, in the presence of either a crushing or spreading force.

It may here be stated that some baseboard units may have their flanges I8 and I9 inclined inwardly and upwardly, in which event the clip or bracing strut 20 will be applied in exactly the same manner as heretofore explained, except that the clip or strut will be inverted and driven onto the flanges in the inverted relationship thereto. That is to say, the clip or bracing strut will in such a case be elevated above the upper extremity of the baseboard unit Walls, instead of below them as shown in Fig. 1.

The meritorious features of the improved clip or bracing strut will appeal to persons conversant with this art, not only because of the eective manner in which the flanges are held against spreading and collapsing, but also because of the extreme ease with which the clips or struts may be applied. The clips or struts are applied within the space of a second or two because of the fact that they need not be fitted into any apertures or sockets of the baseboard Wall flanges, but may be merely positioned with the ears 22 and 24 beneath the flanges I8 and I9 with the use of one hand, while a blow delivered against either of the ears 2| or 23 lengthwise of the flanges will result in securely fastening the clip to the flanges with a tenacious grip, while at the same time the flanges are automatically spaced apart a specified distance as determined by the clip or bracing strut. It is accordingly unnecessary to measure or adjust any part of the structure in order to secure the proper spacing of the baseboard side walls.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes in the structural details of the device may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The herein disclosed invention may also be used in connection with block, tile or similar wall structures, built up between the side walls I 2 and I3 of the baseboard unit.

By reference to Fig. 4, it may be observed that the outermost edges of the leading lugs 22 and Z4 lie very close to the inside faces of the walls I2 and I3. Thus the outer edges of those lugs substantially limit the movement of the bracing struts beyond their intended, transverse positions Ibetween the walls I2 and I3 and the flanges I 8 and I9 thereof. Also, the constricted size of the slots 25 in relation to the thickness of the flanges I8 and I9 assures the establishment of a substantial locking effect between the ears of the strut and the flanges of the base or wall members, incident to which the lugs or ears are placed under a state of tension or stress, the like of which is unattainable by any other method of attachment or xation of spacing struts between similar base or wall members. Thus the driving t, attained by a hammer blow, incident to aixation of the struts, serves not only to properly position the struts, but to also wedge or clamp the parts together.

What is claimed is:

l. As a new article of manufacture, a bracing strut for the angularly convergent flanges of metallic baseboard unit walls, said strut comprising an elongated rigid strap having opposite ends each bifurcated to furnish a pair of adjacent, clamping ears projecting lengthwise of the strap, said ears all beingbent outwardly and upwardly at an obtuse angle to the intermediate portion of the strap, with two diagonally disposed ears so bent being located at a slightly greater distance from the middle point of the strap than are the remaining two ears, whereby one ear of each pair has its mean plane disposed inv parallel but slightly spaced relationship with its adjacent ear for snug reception of a baseboard flange therebetween.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a bracing strut for the angularly convergent flanges of metallic baseboard unit walls, said strut comprising an elongated rigid strap having opposite ends each biurcated to furnish a pair of adjacent, clamping ears projected lengthwise of the strap, said ears all being bent outwardly and upwardly at an obtuse angle to the intermediate portion of the strap, with two diagonally disposed ears so bent being located at a slightly greater distance from the middle point of the strap than are the remaining two ears, whereby one ear of each pair has its mean plane disposed in parallel but slightly spaced relationship with its adjacent ear for snug reception of a baseboard flange therebetween, the ears which are at the lesser distance from the middle point of the strap being cut away at their extremities adjacent to the remaining ears, as a means of guiding a ange into the space between adjacent ears.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a bracing strut for the angularly convergent anges of metallic baseboard unit walls, said strut comprising an elongated rigid strap having opposite ends each single-slotted longitudinally to form four clamping ears, two at each end of the strap, the ears at each end being closely adjacent to one another and constituting a pair of which each ear lies in a plane substantially parallel to but offset from the plane of the other ear for a distance approximating the thickness of a baseboard fla-nge to be braced, all of said ears being bent outwardly and upwardly from the strap at an angle complementary to the angle of inclination of a baseboard flange, diagonally opposed ones of said ears each having a leading edge corner rounded adjacent-l to its respective slot for inducing entry of a baseboard flange into the space between the ears of a pair upon rotation of the strut into engagement with the anges, and the remaining diagonally opposed ears having similarly rounded edge corners remote from their respective adjacent slots, for leading the last mentioned ears without a spreading action upon a baseboard, to an ultimate bracing position bridging the baseboard flanges.

WILLIAM M. GOLDSMITH.

y CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,2LI1,70LI. May 15, 19in.

WILLIAM M.- GOLDSMITH.

It is hereby certified that the residence of the inventor in the above num-v bered patent wgs erroneously described and specified as "Hamilton, Ohio" whereas said residence should-have been described and specified as "Cincinnati, Ohio, as shown by the records of this office; and that the said-Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patient Office.

signed and sealed this ist day of July, A. D. 19in.

Henr5r Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Comnissioner of Patents. 

